


Receipts, Please

by lemonhopia



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Convenience Store, Fluff, Late night convenience store runs, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-09 22:56:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17414108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemonhopia/pseuds/lemonhopia
Summary: Younghyun's late-night convenience store runs become more than just a part of his study routine when he sees the new boy behind the counter.Are his dumb blunders just because of sleeplessness or the cute boy on the night shift?





	Receipts, Please

They say it’s not productive to pull all-nighters, but Younghyun feels like his brain is most active past midnight so he takes advantage of that. After all, he doesn’t really have a choice. His day is already taken up by school and work, leaving only nighttime to study. He doesn’t have early morning classes anyway.

His favorite companions? Coffee and random snacks he can find from the convenience store across the street from his dorm.

Discovering the best and weirdest snacks has become a form of entertainment, and also brings a brief sense of peace and breathing space from his hectic schedule.

After he comes back from summer break though, it’s something else that he finds.

 

“Shall we reheat this too?” The cashier’s innocent looking eyes met Younghyun from behind the counter as he handed him a KitKat after his tuna-cheese melt was scanned. Did he hear the guy right? Nonetheless, he nodded slowly, blinking back exhaustion from his senses. 

Both of them froze for a few seconds, staring at each other and the Kitkat back and forth before processing what happened.

They broke out laughing instantly once they did. Younghyun was doubled up laughing, his eyes turning into crescents, while the cashier chuckled softly, his cheeks and ears turning red at the tips. The boy is probably wondering who was dumber and more embarrassing, just as he is. 

And that’s when Younghyun was able to take a good look at the boy behind the counter. 

He must be new, he wasn’t here before he went away for the summer. Really cute too, Younghyun noticed. His dark hair fell in soft curls just right before his eyes, and his sharp jawline was a nice contrast to his fluffy cheeks. 

_ Dowoon,  _ his name tag read.

Well, looks like Younghyun is going to have more and more late night snack runs in the future.

 

On the second night, Younghyun is extra giddy at the thought of going down to the convenience store. He buys a large coffee from the self-service station to go with his cup ramen, and he accidentally puts a small lid on his cup, making it swim in his coffee.

Dowoon is obviously trying his hardest not to laugh. 

“Please don’t judge me,” Younghyun can’t help but find his blunder funny too. Is he just sleepy, or was it Dowoon’s presence doing this to him?

“I won’t, I know it’s late,” His expression was a bit different from last night’s reserved and embarrassed smile, this time more amused and curious.

“Yeah, exactly why I need this much coffee,” Holding up the huge 22oz cup, he beamed at Dowoon through his sleepy eyes.

“Fair enough, I've had my fair share of late night blunders too,”

“Is that the first time you tried to microwave a KitKat?”

“Excuse me but  _ you _ agreed to microwave that KitKat,”

“I guess we're both messes then,” For the longest time, Younghyun didn't mind whether the store was jampacked or almost empty. This time though, he hasn't been any more glad for the lack of customers at that hour. 

 

One night, it seems that Dowoon feels the same way. It’s now his normal 11pm routine, his much-needed study break, and now his excuse to see Dowoon again and again. He’s been going to the store sometimes even multiple times in one night just to see him.

And it's surprising how Dowoon still doesn't judge him even if he keeps doing all kinds of dumb stuff in his presence, like breaking his plastic spoon in half as he tries to take it out of the wrapper, and putting coffee creamer into his cup ramen. 

Or maybe he is, but he's just too nice to say anything. 

He greeted Younghyun with a shy smile as soon as the door opened. 

What a pleasant surprise. He had a hard time picking out what to eat with Dowoon's smile floating in his head, walking around the aisles at least three times before deciding on a cheese bokki aside from his usual coffee just so he wouldn't look weird. 

“Try it with the fire noodles,” Dowoon suggested once he placed his items on the counter. “The cheese balances out the spice,”

“Oh, wow, ok, thanks, I’ll go get one then,” Though he was surprised by Dowoon making a sudden suggestion, he went off to get some spicy noodles anyway.

“You look like you could really use some to wake you up,”

“Do I really look that bad?” The shade of pink Younghyun blushed in was darker than the one he gets when he eats those spicy noodles he bought.   
“What? No, you don't look bad, it's just that, you look tired, every day that you come here,” Now it was Dowoon who’s turning red and concentrating unnecessarily hard at the items he’s scanning. 

“Ah, well, I  _ am _ tired,” Regaining his composure, Younghyun stretched and yawned to emphasize his point. “School stuff, then work,”

“Same here, I feel you,” Dowoon finished scanning the items silently, then gave him a small smile.

“Thanks Dowoon,” He panicked internally upon realizing Dowoon hasn’t formally introduced himself yet so he tries to save himself. “Uhm, I’m Younghyun, by the way, nice to meet you,” 

He could only hope Dowoon doesn’t find him creepy.

In a panic, Younghyun runs out of the store without getting his change. By the time Dowoon realized it, he was already out of the store.

 

Younghyun had no idea how to redeem himself so he didn’t go back to the store for two nights in a row. His stash of snacks didn’t last long though, apparently he didn’t stock up on enough food from the local grocery store because he had been stress eating through his stash the entire time he was home. 

That weekend, he wasn’t able to resist. 

Hesitantly, he pushed open the door to his favorite convenience store only to be instantly disappointed. He totally forgot. Dowoon was off on Sundays and Mondays.

What’s the point if Dowoon isn’t here? Yeah, ok, he’s hungry and this isn’t the only place to buy food, but he missed Dowoon a lot.

Absent-mindedly, he wandered through the cup ramen aisle and just grabbed random cups. He spent that weekend in his now seemingly extra cold room, thinking about the boy with the curly hair and the cutest smile.

 

If he asks some friends to come over then maybe he won’t be so sulky. At least that's what his roommate Jae thinks when he invited Sungjin and Wonpil over for a movie night. 

“Why do you look like that?” Sungjin's brows are already furrowed at him the moment he entered the room.

“What? What now?” He let out an exasperated sigh. 

“You look dead. Or you haven't slept in week,” Wonpil added, examining his face closely. 

“He misses cute convenience store boy,” Sitting up from his spot on the couch, Jae teased, earning collective gasps from Sungjin and Wonpil. 

“Oooh who is this? Is he cute?” 

“Ugh, Pil, shut up,” Younghyun wanted to facepalm so hard. He wanted to relax tonight, not be roasted and bombarded with questions about Dowoon. 

“You’re gonna ask him out tomorrow night, right? Right?” 

“Jae please, he’s off tomorrow,”

“Oh wow, he already knows his schedule, impressive stalking skills,” Sungjin chuckled. “You know, Wonpil stalked me too before he asked me out,” 

“Hey! I didn’t stalk you!”

The movie hasn’t even started and he’s already watching Sungjin and Wonpil flirt like there’s no tomorrow. This night is gonna be longer than he thought.

Halfway through some weird and actually funny instead of scary zombie movie they randomly picked from Netflix, he starts to get restless. Jae is half-asleep hugging an almost empty bag of chips, and Wonpil is snuggled up in the floor next to Sungjin, and he wasn't sure whether they're focused on the movie or each other. . 

_ Ah, shit. I wanna cuddle too.  _

“Hey, Jae, wake up,” He whispered and shook Jae by the shoulders, earning him a piercing glare. “Do you really think I should ask Dowoon out?” 

“I don't even know why you still haven't,” Jae rolled his eyes and shoved some chips in his mouth. 

“He probably thinks I'm a big dumbass, I keep doing and saying stupid shit in front of him,” 

“Didn't you say he almost microwaved a KitKat when you first saw him? You're even, I guess,”

“Yeah but I  _ agreed _ to microwave it, I'm dumber,” Younghyun sighed and curled up on the couch, hugging a throw pillow to his chest. 

“Ah, right, you  _ are _ dumber indeed.”

 

Tuesday couldn’t come any faster. A mixture of panic and excitement bubbled in his chest as he ran across the street to the store as soon as Dowoon’s shift started, dragging Jae along with him.  _ For moral support,  _ much to Jae's annoyance. 

As far as he knew, Dowoon worked on Tuesdays to Saturdays, 8pm to 12mn. Don't ask him why he knows. He can’t wait for his 11pm routine anymore, he wanted to see Dowoon  _ now. _

His nerves are jittering and he really is gonna take Jae's advice. 

“Need more coffee?” Dowoon greeted as soon as they stepped into the doorway. 

“Hah, surprising, how did you know?” He placed a hand to his heart in mock surprise and he felt how hard it was beating. 

“I know you could always use some more coffee,” Dowoon shrugged. 

“Yeah I know, I know, I look like hell,” Younghyun waved him off and headed to the ramen aisle. Wow, great. He came to the store to see Dowoon yet he can't even face him. 

“What are you doing? I thought you were gonna talk to him?” Jae looked like he was about to tear his hair out, whisper-shouting at him once they were hidden by the tall shelves. 

“I am! I will! Do you just want me to walk into the store and be like,  _ oh hey Dowoon wanna go on a date with me? _ ” 

“Hurry up, I'm hungry, if I die of hunger it's your fault and my ghost will haunt you everytime you eat,” 

Younghyun tried to compose himself by killing some time picking out more snacks on top of the ramen he and Jae took. After about 15 minutes of walking around the aisles and pretending to read product labels, Jae is already shooting him a death glare. He huffed and set his items on the counter, as well as his debit card because his cash wasn't enough for everything he bought. An armful of cup ramen, bags of chips, and even more noodles but in pouches. The only thing Jae helped with was the coffee. 

“Are you preparing for a zombie apocalypse?” Dowoon's eyes widened at the amount of food Younghyun bought. “And, uhm, we have baskets over there,” He pointed to a corner by the door where the stack of shopping baskets are. 

“Oh… Ah, well, I just wanted to uhm, exercise,” Younghyun laughed awkwardly, rubbing the side of his arm. Jae looked like he wanted to pour hot coffee on him when he blurted that out. “By the way, uhm, do you possibly…” 

“Hmm?” Dowoon looked up from scanning the items. He looked even cuter, eyes sparklier, than Younghyun remembers. And that had him completely lost. 

“Do you have more cream? For the coffee?” He didn't have to look behind him to know that Jae is already giving him a  _ ‘what the fuck’ _ look. At that moment he wanted to punch himself too, for being such a coward.  _ You're just going to ask him out oh my god why is it such a big deal?  _ He could hear not only Jae's but also Sungjin and Wonpil's voices in his head, berating him. 

“Oh, yeah sure, here you go,” Reaching out from under the counter, Dowoon put a huge handful of creamer and sugar packets into a paper bag. 

Younghyun wanted to pour coffee on himself. He doesn’t even put anything in his coffee, and after weeks of buying it from that store, he's sure Dowoon knows that. But since Dowoon already put the packets in the bag, how can he say no?

He took all of the bags of food, Jae still being a brat and not helping with anything but the two cups of coffee and watching Younghyun suffer. 

“Wait!” Dowoon called out to them as they were about to wave goodbye. Jae, at least, there was no way Younghyun can wave with all those bags in his arms. “You forgot your change,” 

“Huh? But I paid by card?”

“Ah, no, from last time,” 

“Oh, sorry, I was in a rush and I forgot,” Thankfully, he can hide his face behind the paper bags he was carrying because a blush crept up his face upon remembering that last encounter again. 

Knowing Younghyun's hands were full, Dowoon handed Jae the change before they walked out. 

 

The short walk back to the dorm was silent. Jae was probably just thinking of how to properly gather his thoughts so he can roast Younghyun the way he deserves. 

They set everything down on the coffee table. 

“Here's your change, Mr. Smooth Talker,” Jae laughed and handed him the bills folded meticulously into a small square with what seems like a few coins inside. 

Carefully so nothing will be torn, he unfolded the ₩500 bills and found his receipt from Sunday night along with some coins. Something caught his eye though, the paper had dark ink marks seeping through the thin paper. He checked the back and there was a note, in neatly lined up letters:

 

_ I was waiting for you to ask but you didn't. Here's my number: _

_ xxx-xxxx-xxxx _

_ Call me so we can eat something that's not convenience store food? :)  _

-Dowoon

 

Younghyun's jaw almost dropped to the floor, his heart beating wildly.

At the bottom though, was something written a lot more messily, like it was added last minute:

 

_ And yes, I would love to go on a date with you.  _

**Author's Note:**

> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/lemonhopia)   
>  [Twitter](https://twitter.com/lemonhopia)


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